The Lipstick Page Forums Beauty Blog: NARS Cleo NARS Cleo Posted by Dain, Wednesday, May 11, 2005 7:55 PM (Eastern) I love Cleo. Like all Nars eyeshadows, it's wonderfully subtle and complex. On the left is a pastel blue, sort of a seafoam color, with a silvery sheen to it. The shimmer is soft, with a teeny bit of sparkle to it. It goes on quite sheer, so it is not so blue as it might seem. In addition, the shimmer is just a wee bit warm, so it looks soft, not harsh. If I find it too sheer to be applied with a brush, I apply with my finger. Then it's just the faintest hint of a silvery blue gleam, sparkling just a tiny bit. It's easy enough to wear, with a chocolate-y brown liner, or black, or the color beside it. The right is my favorite. Possibly my favorite liner shadow thus far—though the grapey suede shade of Nars Babylon is more universally flattering, this shade is a lot more interesting. It has a charcoal base, flecked with teal sparkles. A very unique shade, quite unlike any other. The only problem is, it is not pigmented—long-lasting enough to use as a true liner. I apply liner pretty thickly, but even so, I found the teal wearing off, so eventually, it just looks like silver and black, which isn't anywhere near as interesting. Cleo worked fine as a smoky eye, with the teal-flecked charcoal smudged thickly on the lid, but it's hardly suitable for everyday. The look didn't exactly *wow* me, perhaps because charcoal/black is too harsh next to my skin. So, Cleo lay stagnant for a while. Enter, MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl. I'd been using Powersurge with the Babylon duo, and one day it occurred to me to try it with Cleo. Now, Powersurge is a bronze, with a gorgeous gold veneer, it's not the color that one would automatically leap to. But it was brilliant and lovely, and perfect. It catapulted the duo into "genius". The liner did two things. First, because pencil is creamy and shadow is powdery, the powder shadow, flecks and all, grab right onto the bronze. This also helps the liner last longer. Second, Powersurge is warm, and not really a dark shade, so it softens the charcoal, but highlights the teal (gold and teal, sort of complementary colors, sort of). No longer is Cleo harsh, but perfectly wearable. The result is maybe not so much cool mod chic (though you can channel that vibe if you like), but Atlantean mermaid. It's not as much color as you would think, as the seafoam shade is sheer and light, and the teal-flecked charcoal only has color intermittently (as opposed to a full-on teal metallic shimmer, for example) in a dark, neutral base. Usually I use the grey shade of Nars Dream Lover Duo instead, which is a softer look, in terms of color. Not so mermaid-y, perhaps, but still very Atlantean. I am not entirely certain, but I believe it is part of the Summer 2003 Feel the Heat Collection. Since my own pictures didn't turn out very well (it's hard to gauge light and focus and suchlike on oneself, and anyway, I'm not really photogenic), I've adopted my sister, Elaine, as a model. She's got eyes similar to mine, though hers are larger and she has slightly darker skin than I do. The principle remains the same, with Powersurge to line: It's much more impressive in the flesh, I think, though not as sparkly (the flash makes it more vivid, frost-wise). You may be able to detect a halo of the turquoise shimmer on her lids, which, as I have mentioned before, is quite sheer. There's the Powersurge, of course, and most beautiful of all, the teal. As far as I know, no other shade like this on the market. 0 Comment(s)    Email this post Rants, raves, and musings on all things cosmetic. Profile | Current Blog Site Feed (Atom) Previous Articles ·· NARS Rated R ·· NARS Babylon ·· Stephane Marais Cream Foundation ·· Eye Makeup for Green Eyes #3 ·· Body time... ·· MAC Powersurge! ·· Five Minute Makeup ·· In die Heimat... ·· The importance of skin... ·· Old School Dain Minimalist Purists Archives TheBroadroom.Net's Beauty Blog (archive) April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 Links Colleen's Adult Acne Blog Fashiontribes Daily